i started zeo after years of reefing with 'traditional' methods.
initially, i did not feel a need zeo because my corals were mainly lps' and did fine with traditional methods.
but...
when i went into sps'...though the color was there...it was not explosive like the zeo tanks i have seen. yes, i had color but nothing like zeo tanks.
from traditional berlin to having the biggest and baddest skimmers etc...i never got the sps coloration that i wanted...
i am familiar with 'traditional aspects of reef logic...and have done most of them in the past...no water changes, some water changes, no skimming, part skimming, heavy heavy skimming, dsb, ssb, bb, refugium with rubble and sand, no snad just rubble, just macro...high flow, slow flow, tubulent flow, ...whatever...it just goes on and on..
the only thing i never strayed from was the use of halides...always have used them...always will (until something truly comes out better than it)...
ggjeff's sps coloration is typical of a nice mature zeo tank. this is my first time on this forum, first time post so i have no idea who he is but his sps coloration is not unusual for zeo tanks. note how the color literally explodes. no insult to your sps' mojo...as your sps' have gorgeous coloration as well...but i dont see the explosive color typical with zeo tanks.
i am a big nose thumber to 'the latest and greatest' as most of the time...they are not what they report to be.
but , i have been nursing back a formerly gorgeous bennet monti from stagnation to slowly being spectacular. my other sps' have also been showing much more color since being on zeo for just over a month. i personally have never seen any other 'system' make such a huge dramatic change in such a short time...even if zeo states that it is a slow method...it is a lot faster than other 'traditional' methods.
whether it is voodoo, snake oil or placebo...there are individuals who use it and have seen nothing but amazing results. i am going to go out on a limb that most who 'try' zeovit are already very experienced reefers, as many have pointed out, is very maintenance intensive and parameter sensitive. i akin it to a finally tuned ferrari (having ridden and driven some)...nothing is more exhilerating but requires more maintenance than driving an acura nsx very fast...though fun...doesnt emote the same sensations.
whatever zeo's claims are...if it didnt work...i doubt that very experienced reefers would continue to use it. i never claim to be experienced btw...i love learning something new each day!
if zeo's system is proprietory...then zeo should have the right to not disclose what makes it work...the proof that it works would be the visible results in coral coloration and growth. isnt that the criteria that we use to determine coral success?
i read the 'instruction' manual and i did not find the part where the bacteria reside in the pores of the zeoliths. the rocks are for ammonium and ammonia absorption. thus, in everyday theory...no ammonia/ammonium translates into no nitrites and nitrates.
as for the price of the zeo system...i scratch me head more when people buy $3k to $6k skimmers, tell everyone about it and get praised for their expenditure. so, i do not understand the hositility, by some, towards the zeo system about being 'expensive'. no one is forcing you to buy their products and i dont think anyone has to 'defend' their price tage of things like a $129 for a bottle of 'amino acids'. if i bought it, didnt work, i would state my case and reply that i would not buy it again...
anyway, this debate can and would go on forever. here is my final comparison...
i am a big classical music lover and a classically trained solo violinist. my fav composers were mozart, tchaikovsky and saint-saens. i REFUSED to listen to BEETHOVEN for well over ten years in my journey of music and life. finally, one day, i decided to give him a serious listen. my brain just exploded at the genius and beauty of his music. first, i was shocked at the glory of his music. the immediate next feeling? extreme sadness that i missed out on ten years of listening, enjoying and being lost in his music. if i only 'gave him a chance' just a chance and not slam the door on him...i could have learned so much more and matured musically all that greater...
oh yeah, beethoven now occupies my no 2 spot...right under mozart!